Kwanza Murray (Summerville, S.C./Summerville (Lackawanna College)) set or tied four single game school records and scored a career-high 41 points as the Lincoln University women's basketball team defeated Shippensburg university 85-69 Thursday night at Manuel Rivero Hall.
The Lions improve to 5-1 on the season while Shippensburg falls to 2-2.
Murray recorded the Lions' first 40-point game since 1986 and becomes just the second player in program history to score 40 or more points in a single game. She set a Lincoln Division II era record for points in a game and fell just one point shy of the program record of 42 set in 1986 by Terina Clark. Murray also tied Clark's record of 15 field goals in a game, connecting on 15 of 20 from the field. The senior guard also shot 8-for-10 from three-point range, breaking her own record for three-point field goal percentage in a game and tying the school record for three-point field goals made which was set back in 1989 by Valerie Reed. Kwanza also had four assists and three steals
Joy Morton (Lansdowne, Pa./Penn Wood (Harford C.C.)) added nine points while
DeAshia Young (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Public Safety Academy (Labette CC)) and
Shantel Cheeks (Washington D.C./Rock Creek Christian Academy (Harcum College)) had six apiece. Young led the team with six assists while
Alisia Machado (Brooklyn, N.Y./Medgar Evars Prep (Grambling)) grabbed a team high six rebounds.
The game saw five lead changes in the first three minutes before the Lions pulled ahead by seven, 18-11 with 4:09 left on a layup+one from Murray. Murray had 14 of the Lions first 18 points. The Raiders battled back, cutting the lead to one, 20-19 by quarters end.
Lincoln scored the first ten points of the second quarter, taking a double-digit lead for the first time at 30-19 midway through the period and pushed their lead to as many as 13, 35-22 following a three-point basket from
Janya Lilly (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Poly Tech) with 3:09 left. Shippensburg shaved the lead to ten 36-26 as the teams went into the locker room for halftime.
The Lions lead oscillated between nine and 15 points throughout the third quarter with the Raiders outscoring the host team 15-14 to trail 50-41 heading into the final quarter. Murray had ten of the Lions 14 points in the period.
Murray finished the game the way she started it, adding 15 more points in the final period, making six of seven shots and all three of her three point attempts as the Lions pulled away, leading by as many as 19 points late in the game before settling in for the 16-point victory.
Defensively, the Lions held the Raiders to their lowest field goal total of the young season (22) while forcing Shippensburg to commit a season-high 29 turnovers. The turnovers led to 16 Lincoln points. The Raiders did hold a 48-26 rebounding advantage (19-6 on the offensive glass).
Lincoln shot 48.4% (31-64) from the field while Shippensburg made just 37.9% (22-58) of their shots. Lincoln connected on 13-17 from the free throw line (76.5%) and Shippensburg made 20 of 29 (69%). The Lions doubled up on the Raiders in three-point production 10-5 and shot 40% from beyond the arc (10-25). Nine different players recorded an assist for Lincoln who finished with 21.
The Lions return to action on Saturday, November 23, 2019 when they open Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) play with a game at Johnson c. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tipoff is at 2:00 p.m.
